The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning an endoscope that is inserted into a living body in order to diagnose or cure an organ or collect a sample after the endoscope is used.
FIG. 7 shows an example of an endoscope. An endoscope 1 has an insertion member 2, a hand-held operator unit 3, a universal cord 4, and a connector unit 5. The insertion member 2 is flexible and elongated, and inserted into a living body. The hand-held operator unit 3 is fixed to the proximal end of the insertion member 2. The universal cord 4 extends from the hand-held operator unit 3. The connector unit 5 is fixed to an end of the universal cord 4. An illumination window and an observation window or a suction port and an aeration/perfusion port are formed in the distal part of the insertion member 2. The windows or ports open on conductors or passage holes that run through the insertion member 2 and universal cord 4 and that are led the hand-held operator unit 3 and connector unit 5. The passage holes meet the holes of a suction button 6 and an aeration/perfusion button 7 or the holes of a suction base 8 and an aeration/perfusion channel connector 9. After the insertion member 2 is inserted into a living body, while the hand-held operator unit 3 is used to perform required manipulations, an organ is diagnosed or cured, or a sample is collected.
This sort of endoscope is used in common among a plurality of patients. After the endoscope is used, the endoscope must be fully cleaned and disinfected in order to prevent 100% infection of bacteria through the endoscope. Therefore, various cleaning means for cleaning endoscopes have been proposed in the past.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-226092 has disclosed an apparatus for cleaning an endoscope while circulating a cleaning solution stored in a cleaning vessel in which the elongated endoscope is stowed while being rounded. However, this method of cleaning an endoscope while immersing it in a cleaning solution kept in the capacious cleaning vessel needs a large amount of cleaning solution and requires high running costs. Besides, efficiency in cleaning is poor and cleaning requires much time. Moreover, a large space is needed for cleaning.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-19025 has disclosed a cleaning apparatus for cleaning an endoscope that is bent to be fitted in a groove which is curled to have several turns and into which a cleaning solution is poured. Herein, the groove is formed in the upper surface of the top plate of the apparatus while being slightly inclined. According to the method implemented in the apparatus, compared with the aforesaid method, an endoscope can be cleaned with a small amount of cleaning solution. However, since an endoscope is merely brought into contact with a cleaning solution that flows through the groove in the direction of inclination, the endoscope cannot be cleaned reliably and fully. Cleaning efficiency is poor. Besides, since the groove curled to have several turns is formed in the upper surface of the top plate of the cleaning apparatus, a large planar space is needed. This results in the bulky cleaning apparatus. Moreover, in order to fit an endoscope in the center of the groove shaped to make several turns, the endoscope must be bent to exhibit a small radius of curvature. Unnatural force is therefore likely to be imposed on the endoscope.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning technology that is economic and superior in cleaning efficiency and that reliably cleans an elongated endoscope in a limited cleaning space with a limited amount of cleaning solution.
In order to accomplishing the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an endoscope cleaning apparatus consisting mainly of a casing, a cleaning tube, a cleaning solution feeding mechanism, a bypass channel, a circulation pump, and a discharge pump. The casing has an insertion port pipe that opens on the top thereof, and a discharge port pipe that is located on the bottom thereof. An endoscope is inserted through the insertion port pipe, and the discharge port pipe can be opened or closed using a valve. The cleaning tube is a flexible tube curled like a loop, and placed substantially lengthwise in the casing. A first end of the cleaning tube is joined to the endoscope insertion port pipe, and the other second end thereof is joined to the discharge port pipe. The cleaning solution feeding mechanism feeds a cleaning solution to the cleaning tube. The bypass channel links the first end of the cleaning tube and the second end thereof. The circulation pump forces the cleaning solution present in the cleaning tube to reflux from one end of the cleaning tube to the other end thereof over the bypass channel, whereby a flow of the cleaning solution is produced in the cleaning tube. The discharge pump discharges the cleaning solution present in the cleaning tube through the discharge port pipe.
In the cleaning apparatus in accordance with the present invention having the foregoing components, the insertion member of an endoscope that is inserted into a living body is inserted into the cleaning tube through the insertion port pipe while being bent to trace a loop. A cleaning solution is poured into the cleaning tube, and then forcibly refluxed from one end of the cleaning tube to the other end thereof over the bypass channel. Consequently, a flow of the cleaning solution is produced in the cleaning tube. The flow is used to clean the endoscope. At this time, the speed of the circulating cleaning solution is high and the cleaning solution is agitated to be turbulent. The endoscope that comes into contact with the cleaning solution is therefore reliably and perfectly cleaned with the cleaning solution. Moreover, the use of the cleaning tube curled like a loop makes it possible to reliably clean the elongated endoscope within a limited cleaning space with a limited amount of cleaning solution. This is very economic and superior in cleaning efficiency.
According to the present invention, preferably, a direction in which the cleaning solve is refluxed using the bypass channel and circulation pump is able to be changed from a forward direction to a reverse direction or vice versa.
According to the present invention, preferably, a bubble generating means for supplying bubbles into the cleaning solution present in the cleaning tube is connected to the cleaning tube and located near the second end of the cleaning tube. Moreover, a vibrator for vibrating the cleaning tube may be connected to the cleaning tube and located near a middle point of the cleaning tube. Furthermore, an ultrasonic device for irradiating ultrasonic waves to the cleaning solution may be fixed to the cleaning tube in combination with or in place of the vibrator.
Preferably, according to the present invention, the crossing portions of the cleaning tube curled like a loop, which lie on the bottom of the casing, are linked to communicate with each other by a small-diameter passage.
Concretely, according to the present invention, the cleaning tube has a solution feed port pipe, through which a cleaning solution is fed, located at the second end thereof. The cleaning solution feeding mechanism is connected to the solution feed port. The cleaning solution feeding mechanism can selectively feed tap water, and an alkaline solution and an acidic solution that result from electrolysis of brine.
Preferably, the cleaning apparatus in accordance with the present invention has an internal hole cleaning means that circulates the cleaning solution present in the cleaning tube through passage holes formed in an endoscope by performing suction or injection so as to clean the passage holes.